Photo gallery: Spectacular weekend for Young Norfolk Arts Festival

Emerging artists showcase at Holkham Hall as part of the Young Norfolk Arts Festival. Some of the young performers from the Holkham event will be performing at the Lord Mayor's Celebration. Picture: Ian Burt

The Young Norfolk Arts Festival, which is sponsored by the EDP, began on Friday and continues this week until Sunday.

Highlights over the weekend including a musical picnic at Elsing Hall, near Dereham, yesterday, featuring performances from Norwich School students and a spectacular evening of Moulin Rouge-inspired cabaret at the Holkham Estate on Saturday evening.

Saturday’s show featured performances from 50 students of Wells’s Alderman Peel High School and 50 members of Norwich performing arts group, The Garage.

The festival is being held for the second time. Steffan Griffiths, Young Norfolk Arts Festival committee chairman said: “Our aim this year was to take the festival further out around the county and to provide opportunities for young people to perform, watch and organise events in a range of art forms.

“The performances so far have shown that Norfolk has a great deal of young talent out there and I am constantly surprised and impressed by what young people can do when you give them opportunities.”

The festival has also encouraged Norfolk’s young talent to work together.

Michelle Wolfe, head of performing arts at Alderman Peel High School, said: “We have never worked with The Garage before but they have been fantastic, offering our students advice during rehearsals and we plan to work together more in the future.”

Carie Mansfield, from The Garage, said: “It’s been amazing to be at Holkham and it’s great they got involved.”

Meanwhile, 10 budding young journalists are out covering festival events in preparation for a souvenir festival supplement, which will be in the EDP on July 8.

More details about the festival programme and how to book tickets can be seen at www.ynaf.org.uk

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